Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO91/04771 Z~r ~5 PCT/AU90/00~7
REDUCING VELOCITY OF A ROLLING OBJECT
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTlON
This invention relates to reducing the velocity of a
rolling object and relates particularly, but not exclusively,
to reducing the velocity of a bowling bowl along an intended
trajectory without substantially altering the trajectory
l0 whereby a game of bowls can be played on a shorter length rink
with substantially the same delivery as that provided on a
normal length link.
WO91/04771 PCT/AU90/00447
2C?~;X 5
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Lawn bowls is a very popular sport internatlonallv.
Usually, the game is played on an outdoor lawn green which is
expensive to set up and maintain. In addition, inclement
5 weather reduces the number of days upon which the game can be
played.
Indoor bowling greens have been established but
these have been expensive and moreover, the cost of playing on
such indoor greens is high owing to the overhead costs of such
l0 establishments and the lengthy duration of each game.
With outdoor greens, it is very difficult to obtain
access to a rink to practice bowling as the green is usually
fully occupied throughout daylight hours. Bowling in the
evening is not usually considered desirable owing to the dew
15 factor on the green. Thus, it has been exceedingly difficult
for bowlers to practice delivery on outdoor greens, and
because of the cost problems associated with hiring an indoor
green, bowlers do not obtain the required or desired practice.
OBJECT AND STATEMENT OF INVENTION
The present invention has been devised with the
principle object of providing a device for reducing the
velocity of a rolling object. In the case of lawn bowls, it
enables shorter length rinks to be provided which, in turn,
means that the width of a rink can be reduced which, in turn,
25 means that a greater number of rinks can be provided in a
given area than with a normal bowling rink. Thus, the cost of
playing bowls can be significantly reduced which, in turn,
means players will have a greater opportunity of being able to
play or to practice. In addition, because the length of each
30 rink is shorter than in a conventional length rink, the time
associated with playing a game can be significantly reduced
owing to the lesser distance travelled by the bowls and this
will enhance the game of bowls.
Therefore, in accordance with a first broad aspect
35 of the present invention there may be provided a device for
reducing the velocity of a passing rolling object, said device
-3- 20662 1 5
comprising a support frame for positioning the device on a support surface,
velocity reducing means and frame means pivotally supported on the support
frame. The velocity reducing means as attached to the frame means and
positioned on a support surface relative to an intended trajectory of an object
rolling on the support surface. The frame means comprises a front portion for
entry of a rolling object and a rear portion for exit of a rolling object, the front and
rear portions being spaced at a distance from one another. The velocity reducingmeans includes co-operating means having first and last parts for engaging an
upper surface of an object, the first part being positioned at the front portion of
the frame means and the last part being positioned at the rear portion of the
frame means. An upper end of the co-operating means is fixed to the frame
means and a lower end of the co-operating means hangs downwardly from the
frame means. The co-operating means is flexible for absorbing kinetic energy,
whereby during passage of an object rolling past the device the co-operating
means will deflect on engagement therewith to provide kinetic energy
absorption thereLol~l to reduce velocity without substantially altering a trajectory
of an object. The co-operating means further comprises a plurality of surface
means extending substantially continuously across a width of the frame means
between the first and last parts, whereby substantially uniform velocity reduction
will be achieved independent of a position at which a rolling object contacts the
co-operating means across an intended direction of approach. The frame means
is pivotable relative to the support frame, whereby the front portion is raised or
lowered relative to the rear portion to reduce or increase absorption of the kinetic
energy of a rolling object engaging the co-operating means.
It is particularly ~refelled in one embodiment that said co-operating
means comprise the undersurface of a suspended mat which has a section which
lies on the surface over which said object rolls so that during the passage of said
object, it will lift said mat to thereby absorb some of the kinetic energy of said
object. It is also preferred following passage of said object that said mat be
provided to move back to said surface over which said object rolls, so that uponthe passage of a further rolling object it will be ready to absorb substantially the
same amount of kinetic energy therefrom as for the preceding rolling object.
.
-4- 20662 1 5
It is also particularly preferred that said co-operating means act bi-
directionally so that it will reduce the velocity of said object independent of its
direction of movement along the intended trajectory.
It is particularly preferred in a further embodiment that said co-
operating means comprise a plurality of depending members which are
suspended from a position above the height of the object and depend
downwardly to be engaged by the object whereby kinetic energy will be absorbed
therefrom.
Most prefelably the device is sized so it can act to reduce the velocity
of a bowling bowl used in the game of lawn bowls so the game can be played on a
shorter length rink than normal without substantially altering the players
bowling delivery relative to playing on the normal length rink.
Most prefelably the device is fitted midway of a bowling rink so it
will provide velocity reduction at substantially the same position along the
intended trajectory regardless of the direction of approach of the bowls.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there may be
provided a device for use on a bowling rink comprising a planar surface on
which a bowl is rolled and a device for altering an effective length of the bowling
rink. The device comprises velocity reducing means and frame means
supporting the velocity reducing means relative to an intended trajectory of thebowl. The velocity reducing means comprises co-operating means for co-
operating with the bowl by engaging with an upper surface of the bowl. The co-
operating means is flexible and hangs downwardly from the frame means and
has a first part of the co-operating means to contact the bowl and a last part of the
co-operating means to contact the bowl. The first part and the last part are spaced
along an intended continuous trajectory by a finite length before the bowl
engages therewith so that, during passage of the bowl rolling past the device the
co-operating means will deflect on engagement with the bowl to provide kinetic
energy absorption therefrom so the velocity of the bowl will be reduced without
substantially altering the trajectory of the bowl. Indicator means is provided for
indicating the effective length of the bowling rink.
A
~5~ 206621 5
Most preferably said bowling rink forms part of a bowling green
containing many such bowling rinks.
Most preferably said device is removable from said rink whereby to
enable the surface to be used for other purposes when bowls is not to be played.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
In order that the invention can be more clearly
20 ascertained, examples of preferred embodiments for use in
playing bowls will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a rink
incorporating a preferred device;
Figure 2 is a plan view of a conventional rink
superimposed with a rink of shorter length which can be
utilised by embodying examples of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a top perspective view of one example of
a preferred device;
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an
indoor bowling green incorporating devices in accordance with
the present invention;
Figure S is a front perspective view of another
preferred device;
Figure 6 is a side sectional view taken along
section line 6-6 of Figure S;
A
WO91/W771 PCT/AU90/00447
2C?6~ 5 ; - 6 -
Figure 7 is a front view of a further preferred
device;
Figure 8 is a plan view of the device shown in
Figure 7;
Figure 9 is an enlarged part sectional view of the
left hand side of the plan view shown in Figure 8;
Figure 10 is a sectional view taken along section
line 10-10 of Figure 9;
Figure' 11 is a top perspective view of one side of
10 the device shown in Figures 7 through 10 showing detail of
certain parts; and
Figure 12 is a side elevational view of the device
taken from the same side as that shown in Figure 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown a bowling
green 1 having a surface 3 over which a bowling ball 5 can
roll. The surface 3 can be of any desired material such as
grass, synthetic grass, carpet or other surface which is
substantially uniform in texture along the length of the rink
20 1. The rink 1 may have channels 7 at each end to catch bowls
which proceed further than intended past a jack 9. The
channels 7 are provided at each end of the rink 1 so that the
bowlers 11 can deliver the bowls 5 from selected ends of the
rink 1, i.e. in one direction along an intended trajectory and
25 then in the opposite direction along the intended trajectory.
The device 13 is shown in diagrammatical form in
Figure 2 placed on a shorter length rink 15 than a full length
rink 17. Here, the shorter length rink 15 is about one third
the length of the full rink 17. Typically the length of a
30 full rink 17 is shown by length X which is in the range 37
metres to 40 metres. The shorter length rink 15 is shown
having a length Y which can conveniently be 10 metres to 18
metres although this length range is not to be taken
literally. It represents a convenient length as will be
35 appreciated hereinafter. It is also noted that the rink 15 is
somewhat narrower than rink 17. A typical example of width of
WO91/W771 ~ ?~ ~ PCT/AU90/00447
rink 17 is in the range 5.5 metres to 5.8 metres. A typical
width of rink 15 is in the range 2.5 metres to 4 metres.
- Point Z in Figure 2 represents the position of delivery of a
bowl on both the conventional rink 17 and the shorter rink 15.
5 Here the trajectory is shown as being along trajectory line
19. In the case of the shorter rink 15 the bowl passes
through the device 13 and kinetic energy is absorbed therefrom
without substantially altering the trajectory such that the
speed of the bowling ball is reduced considerably. The bowl
10 passes the device 13 and because of its reduced velocity is
subject to a bias trajectory shown generally by numeral 21
during the final part of its travel. The bias length is shown
by length L. In the case of a conventional rink 17 the
bowling ball is delivered along trajectory 19 but the bowl
15 does not pass through the device 13. The bowl may pass
outside the width of the rink 17 as shown by the dotted line
trajectory. The bowl will then have a bias trajectory 23
during its final path before coming to rest. This has been
indicated by length M.
Thus, it can be seen that the length of rink 15 is
considerably shorter than the length of rink 17 and that for a
bowl delivered along trajectory 19 with the same velocity
regardless of whether it is on rink 15 or rink 17, it will
eventually arrive at a final resting position and be subject
25 to bias trajectories 21 or 23 at the end of its path of
travel. In the case of rink 15 the device 13 has absorbed
some of the kinetic energy of the bowl without substantially
altering the trajectory of the bowl as it passes device 13.
In the case of the shorter rink 15, because the bowl has a
30 reduced velocity on passing device 13 it will be subject to a
bias trajectory 21 sooner than in the case if it were
travelling on the conventional rink 17. Thus, the bowl comes
to rest in a shorter overall length that on a conventional
rink. In addition the time taken to travel the length to rest
35 on rink 15 is less than that on rink 17. Thus it can be
appreciated that with the use of the device 13 the actual
WO9l/04771 PCT/AU90/00447
2~ 5
rolling time of the bowl will be substantially less than that
on the conventional rink 17 and hence this will contribute to
speeding up game play. In addition, because the shorter
length rink 15 has the jack (not shown in Figure 2) at a
5 position closer to the bowler than in the conventional rink 17
the bowler is able to more easily sight the position of the
jack relative to any other bowls which may be in the vicinity
of the jack. Thus, because a shorter length rink 15 is used
players are able to observe the intended final resting
10 position of their bowl easier than on a conventional rink 17
and thus there can be increased competitiveness between
players.
It is noted that in both the cases of the shorter
length rink and the conventional rink 17, the bowl is
lS delivered along the same trajectory 19 and thus, use of the
device 13 provides satisfaction to a player because the game
feels the same as the game on the conventional rink 17 at
least so far as delivery of the bowl is concerned.
Referring now to Figure 3 there is shown one example
20 of a device 13. The device 13 includes velocity reducing
means 25 in the form of a mat which has co-operating means 18
- the undersurface of the mat - for co-operating with the bowl
to provide kinetic energy absorption therefrom so the velocity
of the bowl will be reduced without substantially altering the
25 trajectory of the bowl. Thus, as the bowl 5 rolls over the
surface 3 it will enter the device 13 and have its upper
surface engaged by the co-operating means 18. This will, in
turn, lift the mat and reduce the velocity of the bowl as it
passes therepast. The intended trajectory of the bowl will
30 remain substantially unchanged. Whilst the bowl 5 is
delivered with a normal delivery for a normal length rink 1 it
will now stop in a shorter distance.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 3 the co-operating
means 18 forms part of a mat which comprises velocity reducing
35 means 15. Other forms of co-operating means may be provided.
For example, the co-operating means may comprise air blast
WO91/~771 X ~ S PCT/AU90/00~7
g -- . .~ - ,
means which will co-operate with the rolling bowl 5 to provide
kinetic energy absorption therelrom. In this connection the
air blast means may be directed to provide an air blast in the
opposite direction to the direction of travel of the bowl S.
5 The air blast will be over a sufficient cross sectional area
that it will be uniform and will not substantially alter the
trajectory of the bowl 5 as it passes device 13. The
co-operating means may comprise any convenient device which
will allow for energy absorption which will, in turn, reduce
10 the speed of the bowl 5 without substantially altering its
trajectory. As a further example, the co-operating means may
comprise a magnetic field means which will provide a magnetic
field at device 13. Thus, when the bowl 5 passes, magnetic
material which would be embedded within the bowl material
15 composition itself or be provided as a core or as other
circuit paths within the bowl 5 will re-act therewith so that
there will be absorption of kinetic energy of the bowl 5 by
the opposing magnetic fields which would be created in the
bowl as a result of moving through t:le magnetic field at
20 device 13. Thus, a magnetic field would be generated in bowl
5 as a result of the induced current flowing in the circuit
paths therein and this field would, in turn, oppose the field
created by device 13, thereby absorbing kinetic energy from
the bowl 5.
Referring to Figure 3 again, there is shown a top
perspective view of the device 13. Here it can be seen that
the device 13 comprises a frame 27 produced from suitable
material such as steel. Typically, it can be rectangular
tubular steel. The frame 27 is supported on upstanding legs
30 29 which are, in turn, connected to longitudinally extending
rails 31. The rails 31 extend generally parallel with the
intended trajectory of the bowl 5. The rails 31 effectively
distribute the weight of the device 13 over the surface 3 so
that indentations in the surface 3 will be unlikely to occur
35 as a result of the device 13 resting thereon. Thus, the
device 13 has an inverted U-shaped front opening 33 and a
WO91/04771 PCT/AU90/0~7
~ 5 - - l o
corresponding inverted U-shaped rear opening 35. The height
of the legs 29 is greater than the diameter of the largest
anticipated bowl 5 so that a bowl 5 can pass into the device
13 by passing through the front opening 33 and out through the
5 rear opening 35.
The frame 27 supports the velocity reducing means 25
in the form of a mat. The un~ersurface of the mat provides
the co-operating means 18 which will engage with the uppermost
surface of the bowl 5 to absorb kinetic energy therefrom as
10 the bowl passes the device 13. As shown, the mat is attached
to the front of the frame 27 as by screwing it thereto with
suitable screws so that it will hang downwardly from the frame
27 and over a portion of the surface 3. Thus, as the bowl 5
passes through the device 13 it will first contact the
15 co-operating means 18 and lift the mat slightly as it passes
therethrough. The mat will form a tunnel during the passage
of the bowl 5 which will assist in maintaining the bowl 5
travelling along its intended trajectory without substantially
altering the intended trajectory when the bowl 5 leaves the
20 device 13.
The co-operating means 18 has surface texture which
will enhance kinetic energy absorption. In this embodiment it
has been found that carpet-like surfaces provide good kinetic
energy absorption. The mass of the mat should be sufficient
25 to not readily deflect from the surface of the bowl 5 when the
bowl 5 first engages with the mat. Typically, the velocity
reducing means 25 has sufficient inherent resiliency so that
following the passage of the bowl 5 it will return to a
flatten condition on surface 3. Thus, the device 13 will then
30 be ready to accept the subsequent bowl 5 and absorb
substantially the same kinetic energy as for a previous bowl
5.
In order to assist the mat returning to the
flattened condition on the surface 3, flattening inducing
35 means 37 are provided. The flattening inducing means 37 is
shown as elastic members which are pegged into the surface 3
WO91/04771 PCT/AU90/00447
2~ 5~'
by pegs 39 so that they will stretch the end of the mat flat.
Other forms of flattening inducing means 33 may be employed.
One example may conveniently comprise a bar or other member
which will engage with the velocity reducing means 25
5 following passage of a bowl 5 to cause it lie flat on the
surface 3. In other example it may comprise a tension bow
member attached across the rear end of the mat to cause it to
be tensioned to assume a flattened condition following passage
of the bowl 5.
When the direction of bowling is to be reversed, the
device 13 can be lifted and rotated 180~ so that the U-shaped
opening 25 will be directed towards the bowler 11. The pegs
39 can then be re-positioned.
Referring now to Figure 4 there is shown a
15 diagrammatic perspective view of an indoor bowling green
within a building 41. Here a bowling green 43 is provided
with a surface 3 which may comprise carpet or synthetic grass
or other suitable material. The green 43 is divided into a
number of rinks 1. The length of the rinks 1 is substantially
20 shorter than a normal length bowling green rink. Because the
rinks are shorter the widths can also be shorter as observed
from Figure 2. Situated intermediate the ends of each rink 1
are respective devices 13. The arrangement is such that
bowlers can play and/or practice bowls in a shorter length
25 rink than a normal length lawn bowls rink and yet deliver the
bowl with the same delivery or substantially the same delivery
for the normal length lawn bowls rink. Thus, the feel of
bowling will be substantially the same as on a conventional
lawn bowls rink but the distance of travel of the bowl 5 will
30 be reduced by the device 13. The devices 13 are removable
from the green 43 so the area within the building 41 can be
used for other purposes. Thus, the use of the device 13
enables an economic bowling green 43 to be provided where
otherwise the costs would be substantially prohibitive and
35 would discourage bowlers to play and/or practice. Thus, in
the case of the green 43 being provided within a building 51
WO91/04771 PCT/AU90/0~7
- 12 -
~%A~ ~
the green 43 is not subjected to the weather and/or other
climatic conditions for a conventional green. In addition,
the game of bowls can be played during the day and at night
provided there is sufficient lighting within the building 41.
The device 13 can be fitted to an outdoor bowling
green and rink if required with the advantage that
substantially more rinks 1 can be provided in a given bowling
green 43 than for normal lawn bowls.
It should be noted that with use of the device 13 it
10 is unlikely that a bowler will bowl into adjacent rinks 1 as
the device 13 will contain the game on each rink widthwise.
Referring now to Figures 5 and 6 there is shown
another example of device 13. Here the device 13 is
particularly suited for use in home environments and the
15 device 13 is made of a size and a weight which enables it to
be moved easily. Here the device 13 is similar in nature to
the device shown in Figure 3. It has a frame 27 with legs 29
connected with rails 31. Thus the device 13 has a front
opening 33 and a rear opening 35. The device 13 is provided
20 with a hinged lid 45 which may be fabricated from sheet steel
or other suitable material. The lid 45 extends over the
surface area embraced by the frame 27. Hinge pins 47 extend
laterally from one end of the lid 45. The hinge pins 47 may
be secured in sleeves (not shown) welded or otherwise fastened
25 to the frame 27 at one end. Alternatively, the pins 47 may
simply rest on the upper surface of part of the frame 27.
This version has been shown in Figures 5 and 6. The opposite
end of the lid 4 5 is provided with a V-shaped cut-out 49. A
pivoted rod 51 is pivotally mounted to the frame 27 to be in
30 alignment with the cut-out 49. The rod 51 is provided with a
series of spaced apart pairs of arms 53. The V-shaped cut-out
49 has a width across the V which is marginally greater than
the width of the pair of arms 53. The arrangement is such
that the lid 4 5 can rest on the frame 27, as shown in Figure
3 5 5, or be elevated to various inclined positions as shown in
Figure 6 as determined by the vertical spacing apart of the
WO91/W771 PCT/AU90/0~7
- 13 - ~ 5
pairs of arms 53. Thus, the lid 45 can be pivoted about
pivots 47 so that one end is raised as shown in Figure 6 and
located and held in that position by relevant pairs of arms 53
passing through the V-shaped cut-out 49 and the arms 53 then
5 engaging with the undersurface of the lid 45 in the region of
the cut-out 49. Thus, the lid 45 can be retained in a desired
pivoted position as determined by the vertical spacing apart
of the pairs of arms 53.
The lid 45 carries a series of co-operating means 18
lO which comprise depending members 55 which are produced from a
sheet of suitable materials such as rubber, plastics, vinyl or
compounded materials which exhibit a flexible and resilient
character. Thus, the depending members 55 are cut from the
sheet material with slits therebetween. The slitting is not
15 completely through the sheet material so the sheet material
can provide a strip of depending members 55 which are fastened
to the undersurface of the lid 45 in any suitable manner as by
screwing thereto. Thus, there are a series of rows of
depending members 55 across the intended trajectory of the
20 bowl 5. The slitting is provided with a substantial width as
for example 5 millimetres. This allows the depending members
55 to hang freely and not interfere with each other as a bowl
5 passes through the device 13. Thus deflexion of one
depending member 55 by the bowl 5 is unlikely to be
25 interrupted by contacting an adjacent depending member 55.
Each successive row of depending members 55 is
arranged so that the depending members 55 are displaced
laterally across the trajectory of the bowl 5 by half the
width of a depending member. Thus, a bowl 5 entering the
30 device 13 will engage initially with the first row of
depending members 55 and then the next and so on~ Because
each row of depending members 55 is displaced laterally across
the trajectory of the bowl 5 by half the width of a depending
member 55, there will be no tendency for the bowl 5 to alter
WO91/04771 PCT/AU90/00447
- 14 -
ZC~%~ 5
its trajectory slightly to follow a row of slits between
adjacent depending members 55 as would be the case if the
slits in each row were in alignment.
The provision of the pivoted rod 51 to raise and
5 lower the lid 45 enables a control over the co-operating means
18 so that by raising the lid 45 there will be less of the
surfaces of the co-operating means 18 to engage with the bowl
5 than if the lid 45 is in its lowermost position. Thus,
raising the lid 45 will permit for less kinetic energy
10 absorption from the bowl 5 than if the lid 45 is in its
lowermost position. Thus, a bowler can control to some degree
the intended length of bowling so that the bowler can simulate
different lengths of bowling rinks on a conventional rink.
Each of the pairs of arms 53 can be suitably marked to
15 indicate the simulation - a 22 metre conventional rink, a 30
metre conventional rink, or a 38 metre conventional rink or
any other lengths.
Referring now to Figures 7 through 12 there is shown
a further example of device 13 which is similar in nature to
20 the device shown in Figures 5 and 6. Here the device 13 is
provided with a pair of side frames 59 which are produced from
a suitable material such as steel. Each of the base portions
61 carries legs 63 which support an upper frame member 65.
Each side frame 59 is identical. A lid 67 is carried by the
25 side frames 59. The lid 67 is fabricated from any suitable
material such as sheet steel as in the embodiment of Figures 5
and 6. The lid 67 carries depending members 55 in the same
manner as that shown in the embodiment of Figures 5 and 6.
Thus, this embodiment is substantially similar to that shown
30 in Figures 5 and 6.
The lid 67 is supported on the upper frame members
65 by hinge pins 47 which pass through suitable holes in
upstanding threaded posts 69 which are attached to the upper
frame members 65. The threaded posts 65 carry nuts 71 which
35 will permit for height adjustment of the threaded post 69 to,
in turn, raise the position of pivoting of lids 67 relative to
WO91/04771 PCT/AU90/0~7
- 15 - ~ S
the surface 3. Thus, the height of lid 67 can be raised or
lowered by the threaded post 69. The purpose of this wi11 be
explained in due course. The opposite end of the lid 67
carries a pair of cams 73 which are interconnected by an axle
5 75 so that both cams - being identical - are in angular
alignment. Each of the cams 73 is arranged to align directly
parallel with the upper frame members 65 and to engage on cam
bearings 77 carried by brackets 79 fastened to the sides of
the upper frame members 65. The axle 76 is, in turn, held to
10 the lid 67 in journals 81 fastened to the upper surface of the
lid 67. Thus, the journals 81 support the axle 75 so that it
can be rotated about its longitudinal axis. A hand wheel 83
is provided at one end of the axle 75 to permit manual
rotation of axle 75 to, in turn, cause the cams 73 to
15 angularly rotate. Such rotation of the cams 73 will, in turn,
cause the end of the lid 67 to which the cams 73 are attached
to be raised and/or lowered depending on the angular position
of the cams 73. A pair of fingers 85 are attached to the lid
67 so that one finger 85 is on one side of the lid 67 and the
20 other finger 85 is in the opposite side of the lid 67. In
this way the fingers 85 depend downwardly to a position below
the upper frame members 65 and act as guides to maintain the
lid 67 oriented squarely relative to the upper frame members
65. In other words, this enables the side frames 59 to be
25 held in generally parallel spaced apart relationship at each
side of the lid 67.
Figures 10 and 12 show the arrangement of how the
depending members 55 can be fastened to the undersurface of
the lid 67. Here a pair of rows of depending members 55 is
30 comprised of one sheet of suitable material. The suitable
material is bent in the middle as shown in Figure 12 to form a
substantially U-shaped transverse cross sectional member. A
wooden slat 87 is provided under the strip of material and
screws 89 fasten the slat to the undersurface of the lid 67
35 to, in turn, hold the depending members 55 from the
undersurface of lid 67. Each of the rows of depending members
WO91/04771 PCT/AU90/00447
2C~ 16 -
55 is preferably spaced equally as shown. Figure 10 clearly
shows how the depending members 55 in a first row are slit and
offset by half the width of a depending member 55 relative to
the next row. Thus, there is no alignment of slits between
5 adjacent depending members in one row and the next.
Figure 7 shows an indicating means 91 with markings
93 thereon and a moving indicator 95 which can swing across
the indicating means 91 to provide an indication of the length
of rink which will be simulated by the degree of elevation of
10 the lid 67 by the cams 73. The indicating means 91 comprises
a half circular casing fabricated from sheet steel and held to
the top of lid 45. The casing is therefore hollow. The
casing has front and rear faces 97 and each face 97 has a hole
therein through which an axle 99 passes. The axle 99 carries
15 an arm 101 to which indicator 95 is attached at one end and to
which at the other end is attached a chord 103. The chord
passes through a conduit 105 attached to the top of lid 67 and
around a post 107 to attach to the axle 75. Post 107 is
mounted within a housing 109 at one side of the lid 67. A
20 torsional spring (not shown) is mounted on axle 99 to apply a
tension to the chord 103 at all times. Thus, when axle 75 is
angularly rotated to raise lid 67 chord 105 is either wound
onto or off axle 75 which, in turn, allows the arm 101 to
swing so that indicator 95 can be viewed through an arcuate
25 viewing aperture 111 in the casing 97. Thus, a person can
look at the indicating means 91 and obtain an assessment of
the length of rink being simulated by use of this device.
The threaded post 69 are provided to be adjustable
in height so that by suitable height adjustment the pivot
30 point for the hinge arms 47 can be raised or lowered. This
will, in turn, raise and/or lower each of the depending
members 55 at that end of the device. Such adjustment can be
provided to simulate the conditions experienced on a
conventional lawn bowling rink between wet (slow) or dry
WO91/W771 PCT/AU90/0~7
- 17 - Z~ 5
(fast) grass. Suitable markings may be provided on the
threaded posts 69 to indicate wet or dry or any intermediate
conditions.
Thus, in the embodiments of Figures 5 and 6, and
5 Figures 7 through 12, the depending members 55 will flex as
the bowl 5 passes the device 13 and because of the resilient
nature of the material they will assume the position shown in
the drawings following passing of the bowl 5. The depending
members 55 may be made in any manner suitable such as by
10 moulding or attaching individual members 55 to the
undersurface of the lid 67 and 45. It is considered that the
embodiment shown in Figures 7 through 12 represents an
economical embodiment. The depending members 55 are formed
from sheets of solid vinyl of approximately 1.5 - 2.0
15 millimetres thickness. In each of the embodiments of Figures
5 and 6, and 7 through 12, there are twenty rows of depending
members 55 even though a lesser number have been shown in the
drawings. Each of the members 55 are approximately 200
millimetres in length and each slit is approximately 180
20 millimetres in length and approximately 5 millimetres in
width. The depending members 55 extend to within about 5 to
20 millimetres from the surface 3.
It should be noted that in the embodiment shown in
Figures 5 and 6, and 7 through 12, a bowl 5 can be passed
25 through the device in either direction and the energy
absorption will be the same in each case. Thus, with the
devices shown in Figures 5 and 6, and 7 through 12, it is not
necessary to rotate the device 13 through 180~ when it is
desired to play from the opposite end. Thus, in the case of
30 devices 13 being fitted within a building 41 as depicted in
Figure 4, the devices 13 may be left substantially permanently
fitted except for when they need to be completely removed when
the building 41 is used for other purposes.
When the devices 13 are used for co-operating with
35 bowling bowl as distinct from any rolling object to absorb
kinetic energy therefrom, appropriate modification of the
W O 91/04771 PC~r/A U90/00447
'ZC~S2~5 - 18 -
existing bowls rules may be required because of the
accelerated time of play using the devices 13 and other
factors consequent thereon. It may be found in practice that
a new set of formal bowls may be developed using the device
5 13. It is contemplated however, that the basic rules of bowls
be not substantially altered.
Modifications may be made to the examples shown
above without departing from the ambit of the invention. As
an example, the device 13 may be set-up so there is different
10 kinetic energy absorption on one side of the device 13
relative to the other side, across the intended trajectory of
the bowl 5. In this way the device 13 can be used to simulate
different speeds of rink from one side of a rink to the other,
as can be experienced on a conventional full length lawn green
15 rink. Such modifications could be performed by persons
skilled in the manufacturing arts of producing products of the
nature outlined herein and such are deemed to be within the
scope of the present invention. Accordingly, these and other
modifications may be made without departing from the ambit of
20 the invention the nature of which is to be determined from the
foregoing description.
